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Eye’s Natural lens Replaced with Accommodative Lens Implant – A First in Alberta

Eye’s Natural lens Replaced with Accommodative Lens Implant — A First in Alberta

Freedom from reading glasses is now an option

CALGARY, ALBERTA — A revolutionary technology in ophthalmology is now approved and available in Alberta: an accommodative lens implant that replaces the eye’s natural lens to provide many individuals with freedom from reading glasses, bifocals and trifocals. Dr. Howard Gimbel performed the first procedure in Alberta using this new technology on March 11, 2008.

The Tetraflex™ Presbyopic Intraocular Lens (IOL) is designed to be a solution for presbyopia — a natural condition that diminishes near vision after the age of 40. When presbyopia occurs, the natural lens of the eye loses flexibility, causing difficulty to change focus to perform activities such as reading or working on a computer.

Unlike the most commonly manufactured lens implants that offer a single focus only, the Tetraflex IOL provides greater range of focused vision by using the eye’s natural forces to change the position of the implant lens, which enables many patients to enjoy their favourite near vision activities without complete dependence on glasses or contact lenses after surgery.

“Results have been impressive. With this new lens, 100% of patients achieved 20/40 vision or better in the FDA’s clinical data — with 98% of patients able to read newspaper print without reading glasses,” said Dr. Howard Gimbel, Executive Medical Director of Gimbel Eye Centre.

Background

This new lens is called the Tetraflex™ Presbyopic Intraocular Lens (IOL).

The Tetraflex IOL is a solution for presbyopia — a natural condition that diminishes near vision after the age of 40.

When presbyopia occurs, the natural lens of the eye loses flexibility, causing an inability to fine-tune vision for near tasks such as reading, sewing or computer work.

Unlike the most commonly manufactured lens implants that offer a single focus only, the Tetraflex IOL provides a fuller range of vision by using the eye’s natural forces to move the centre of the lens forward and/or backward in position, which enables many patients to enjoy multiple ranges of vision without spectacle or contact lens dependence after surgery.

The Tetraflex lens design reduces halo and glare and is available in 0.20 diopter increments — allowing for greater accuracy in predicting post-operative results.

To achieve optimal post-operative vision, patients choosing the Tetraflex IOL are advised to perform daily focusing exercises to strengthen and tone an eye’s mature and naturally loosened inner muscle tissues after surgery. Some examples of focusing exercises are reading newspapers as well as doing crossword puzzles and word searches for 10-30 minutes at a time.